A Lonely Dream

"I felt like somehow we had met before. FFX Collaboration Epilogue: A Lonely Dream ★Join the Ranking Event!★"

- In-game description

FFX Collaboration Epilogue: A Lonely Dream was a Ranked "battle tower" event available in October 2018, as part of the Final Fantasy X Collaboration Event. It featured a challenge with progressive difficulty from Yuna's collection of Aeons.

Event Details

 * Ranking Event duration: October 23 - November 1, 2018
 * First appearance: October 23 - November 30, 2018
 * Second appearance: February 1 - end of service, June 2020
 * Event type: progressive Tower Battle

The Ranking contest concluded after its usual 10-day period. However, the region has stayed open beyond that, to act as an epilogue to the Dream Within a Dream storyline. Though it is not stated anywhere, we expect this zone to stay open until the FFX Collaboration Event closes at the end of November.

How to Participate

 * Select "FFX: A Lonely Dream" from the world map -- a red arm off of the FFX Prologue region, attached to Chapter 1, Blank Slate.
 * This event is only accessible after a player clears the Runic Temple in Chapter 1
 * Players are highly encouraged to complete as much of the Dream Within a Dream storyline as they can before participating in this event, to maximise the enhancements from the Sphere Grid and to widen the range of Aeons available. You receive Valefor as a gift if you haven't already gained him, but Valefor is the final Aeon in the challenge. Valefor vs. Valefor is useless, and you'll have an extremely hard time without an Aeon, so it pays to have at least Ifrit (and preferably Anima) to fight these levels.

Story
Wol finds Yuna at the Tower of Trials, apparently in a dream. If it's a dream, says Wol, then make the best of it until you wake up. If you're supposed to be the Great Summoner, let's see some evidence of it. Time for a friendly Contest of Aeons!

Flashback: Yuna appears in Zanarkand (or Palamecia's equivalent) and spots a familiar Blitzball player... except this one has platinum hair. It's Wol, in the Ace Striker outfit. He's not clear where he is, or how he got here. Maybe he's dreaming, or maybe Yuna is dreaming him. It's all too similar to a previous experience of hers. Wol might have been part of that experience, but Yuna is pretty certain he wasn't there. Still, Wol feels oddly familiar to her.

Wol question if it's a Summoner's intuition, but Ynua says she's not a summoner anymore. She had to destroy them to save her world of Spira. It was pretty harsh, and she hopes they understand. But if it is a dream, then it should be easy to ask them directly... by summoning them in the dream! Off to the Tower of Trials.

At the Tower, Yuna summons Valefor, and Valefor comes! It's obvious that Valefor is kind and understanding, making Yuna happy. It's a great opportunity to see the two of them in action, so Wol challenges them to a friendly Contest of Aeons! Yuna accepts.

The contest is a gentle one, with Yojimbo, Ifrit, and Shiva easily taken down. But Wol feels that Yuna is holding back. She just keeps smiling while they're fighting. Wol wants her to get serious and let loose. The next round with Anima is much tougher, but it's still not all she can do. Wol pushes for her top effort with Valefor, and manages to overcome the two by the skin of his teeth... and his own developed Summoning skills!

Yuna congratulates Wol on his victory, but Wol is disappointed he couldn't get the smile off her face. She points out that the role of a Summoner is to bring hope to the people, even when all seems dire and lost. So Yuna vowed to always smile, regardless of how hopeless it might be. It's a lesson of sorts, for the man who never smiles! Yuna is okay with that, given that she has someone who will always have a smile for her.

In a quiet moment afterwards, Yuna goes back to Palamecia's version of Besaid, where she reflects on life without Tidus. She's happy to have the chance to dream about him, and looks forward to waking up to a future with him in it.

''Thus ends the story... and leads into Final Fantasy X-2? Who knows?''

Gameplay
Play in this area works up a single chain of levels, from the beginning Abyss level up to the top Ragnarok level. As you work your way up the tower, the battles at each level will get progressively harder.

You will be using the Summoning System in this contest: your normal Sub-deck is not available. Instead, the Job Change Recast action will allow you to summon an Aeon, with a pre-set list of Abilities. See the Summoning section of Dream Within a Dream, Episode 3 for details. If you have not gathered any Aeons through Episode 3 or Episode 4, you will be given Valefor as a basic Aeon to use in the journey.

You have the controls on-screen to see what enhancements you have gathered from the Sphere Grid, and what enhancements your Aeons have from the Aeon Sphere Grid, but neither of these grids is reachable from here.

Yuna appears to the side of the Aeon, and casts spells of aid on the Aeon in the center areas: While Yojimbo's dog Daigoro is present, he's not casting any spells. Only Yuna is. Like Daigoro, Yuna is not targetable, and area attacks do not affect her.
 * Inspire (removes ailments, or adds Snipe/Brave if none)
 * Pray (heals + Regen:enhanced).

Event Map
"We were lucky enough to cross paths once. I would give everything for lightning to strike once more..."

- World Map description

The region is the standard Tower of Trials -- one path with a staircase up, and a platform every 2 levels, leading up to the top at the 50th "Ragnarok" level. You cannot return to previous levels once they've been beaten.

After completing the Highest Level: Ragnarok, you enter the "Phantasmic Coil" areas. This is a set of 5 areas that repeat in an infinite loop, also with an increasing difficulty with each area finished. On these levels, there is no fifth Rental Card allowed, and if you lose, you cannot use s to continue. A Prize of x3 is handed out for each loop of 5 completed.

There are 31 areas and 26 treasure chests. Since the last treasure chest regenerates on each pass, the region technically cannot be Cleared.

Areas
The "ladder" consist of 50 levels, but only 25 actual areas. As you progress, previous areas become inaccessible -- you can only go up. The center areas (10th, 20th 30th. 40th, Ragnarok) contain much stronger Aeon enemies, where your own Aeons will shine.

Phantasmic Coil
The five levels after Ragnarok are set in an infinite loop, with a prize on the completion of the fifth area on each loop. Players cannot use s to continue the battle if they lose, and the fifth "rental" card is not available.

The first and second skirmishes here start with a pre-set collection of fiends, but after the 70th Level they will change to other fiends, and will alternate the first and second skirmish lineups. The third skirmish always remains as described.

The Phantasmic Coil has Pure Elements, who cast Elemental Lockout on you (like ), and a 3-turn Element Drive on all of your foes in all of the other elements. The lockout can be a problem if that's your Aeon's element, but otherwise your Prismatic Generation should keep any spells in the locked element still going.

Bonus Prizes
All players who clear the region (up through Ragnarok) will receive a special Companion Spirit.

Special Fiends

 * Flans
 * Vidatu
 * Aerouge
 * Shantak
 * Garuda
 * Gigaflan

The Aeons

 * Yojimbo
 * Ifrit
 * Shiva
 * Anima
 * Valefor

Reference

 * Mobius Final Fantasy News Page Announcement
 * A Lonely Dream superthread on Reddit
 * BuffMaister's compilation of the videos from the event

Music
All music comes from the Soundtrack to Final Fantasy X Remastered.